Page 78 of Dragon Unleashed

I collapse into my hard plastic seat, risking a glance at Chano. The asshole stares straight ahead, expression impassive. When the others came back from their exams, they were pristine. No matter what they’d faced. Ilooklike I was really in an earthquake. My muscles scream as I sit up. Dammit, I feel like I was there too.

Zephyr leans with his butt and one foot resting against the wall, head bent toward Professor Allegra. Despite his attempt to look chill, he radiates anger.

“No, no, Zephy dear. Everything’s fine. It’s as it should be.” Professor Allegra steals a quick glance over her shoulder before patting him on the cheek.

The klaxon sounds again. What the hell? The others had fifteen minutes between scenarios. That’s barely five. I stare wildly around, leaping up as my chair vanishes from under me. Slowly the scene takes shape.

My mouth dries instantly. I’m in the slums of Venez. I wasn’t even told which elements to use. Raucous laughter spills out of a dimly lit bar. The Junction. The neon sign flickers. The notorious Las Ratas hangout. I tug at the ridiculous outfit I’ve been clothed in. My ass cheeks are nearly hanging out and the top is stupidly low-cut.

This deserves an official complaint. Professor Allegra has taken it too far.

The door to the bar opens and a man staggers out. As he straightens, I balk.

Frank.

It can’t be Frank. My foster parent is dead.

He can’t hurt me.It’s an illusion, Lorelei. Get it together. I pat down my pockets. No pockets. And no knife. This is utter bullshit. I always have my knife.

A couple more men wander out of the pub, nudging one another when they clock me. Assholes. What am I? Meat? I clench my fists and turn, striding away. I know better than to stick around here. I walk past the back entrance to a restaurant kitchen. A short man glances up from sweeping the back step. He takes one look at me, and one at the men following, drops his broom, and slams the door shut. Great.

If I can just stay ahead of them in this poorly lit alley, I can get out of this rabbit warren. The light from the streetlamp at the far end dims as someone steps in front of it, and I slow to a halt. Backlit, it’s difficult to make out the figure’s face. But his stance is alarmingly familiar.

“Hey, little L.” The voice of my nightmares. “I missed you. You got lucky that last day I saw you. Your stupid dog interfered.” He makes an exaggerated show of looking around. “You don’t seem to have brought him today.”

Hell. I back up a few steps, glancing over my shoulder as the men behind advance. First Frank, now him? Someone is out to get me. I did not need my ex showing up in an illusion. Not this ex. Not now.

“I’m back to finish what we started, little L. I gotta say, I’m liking your outfit better than the layers you used to wear.”

I swallow the nausea down. How would anyone know this stuff about me? I turn and bolt back toward Frank, toward the two Las Ratas goons flanking him. I’d rather take him any day than face Dexter.

Frank sends a fireball at me, and I duck at the last moment. It smashes into the wall behind me, flames skittering out across the brickwork. He follows up with a second and a third. But I’m steadier now. I throw my shield up, deflecting them. The fourth time he sends fire at me I halt it midair and send it spinning back toward him.

The two Las Ratas goons are on me in a flash, forcing me to twist away and drop my attack on Frank. The flash of metal sets my teeth on edge. Magicandarmed. Thank the goddesses for all the training we’ve been doing.

I step into a dead end and let the unarmed goon catch me by the wrist. I fake a terrified wail and he snorts. The armed guy stalks forward, grinning. At the last moment I twist my wrist free and lunge for his knife. I bend his thumb back so hard I feel thecrack. The blade flies into the darkness, clattering against the wall. Shit. I needed that.

A torrent of water hits the wall at my head, and I throw myself sideways, missing the worst of it. Spinning a tornado, I pin both gang members to the wall. My brow beads with sweat as I hold it, sprinting past them, out of the dead end. I smack straight into Frank, and only avoid falling because his big meaty hand grasps my shoulder. His other hand settles around my neck, and he squeezes.

With a roar I set my skin on fire, transferring it to Frank in one swift sweep of my arm. He bellows and drops, rolling on the ground. I send fireball after fireball at him, and the flames lick toward the sky. I killed him once already…

His image suddenly flickers out of view, the pixels rearranging until there’s nothing where he lay. My shoulders slump.

“Oh, don’t worry about that one, sweetheart. He was part of your scenario,” Dexter hisses in my ear. “I mean, heisdead after all. He couldn’t be real. But me? I’m real. Why don’t you touch me and find out?” He cups his dick.

Dexter is here, and he’s no illusion.

He grabs my hair, ripping my head back. With his other hand he yanks my wrist, forcing me to touch his cock. The creep has a hard-on. Why did I ever date this maniac? He twists my arm behind my back, locking me in place, pressed against him.

“Strip her.” He nods at the two Las Ratas lackeys. I shiver, wriggling in his grip, but he laughs and holds me tighter. I clench my eyes shut as my top is shredded. Cold air hits my chest and I start to hyperventilate. This is real.

“Get on your knees and beg, like a good little girl.”

He shoves me away from him and the goons crowd closer, trapping me. There’s no way to escape. Shivering, I turn and kneel, just like he wants. I squeeze my eyes shut, blocking outthe bulge in his pants, inches from my face. A pleased snort echoes off the damp walls.

Without opening my eyes, I feel around in the dirt until my fingers brush against wood.

The unmistakable sound of a zipper makes me freeze. Dexter’s fingers tangle in my hair again.

---